Remy LeBeau
Remy LeBeau (also known as Gambit) was a highly acclaimed thief and con-man who was a member of the Thieves Guild, Marauders and later the X-Men. Biography Early life Remy LeBeau was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on June 16, 1984 to parents that apparently abandoned him after his birth. The baby was stolen by the New Orleans chapter of the Thieves Guild, one of several guilds that traced their ancestry back to a mythical, old kingdom, predating known history. The Thieves Guild of New Orleans referred to him as “le diable blanc”—the white devil—and believed that he was prophecied to play an important part in their future. The child was stolen for the Antiquary, a powerful guild member and historian. Jean-Luc LeBeau, patriarch of the New Orleans Thief Guild, hated the thought of a child having to grow up a slave of the Antiquary, so he made a deal with him and freed the boy. Jean-Luc placed Remy with Fagan’s mob instead – a group of child thieves led by an expatriate guild member named Fagan. Remy grew up to be a skilled pickpocket. When he was about eight years old, he saw a few men threatening a beautiful blond girl his age and hurried to help her. There was actually no need, as the girl, Bella Donna Boudreaux, was the daughter of the patriarch of the Assassins Guild and trained in the killing arts. Bella Donna and Remy would become best friends and eventually fall in love with each other. Remy later tried to rob Jean-Luc LeBeau one day when he was about ten, a meeting that had been orchestrated by Jean-Luc, and was caught. LeBeau adopted the young boy into his own family. As Bella Donna and Remy were in love with each other anyway, their fathers intended to have them marry to ensure lasting pace between the two guilds. The teenagers were reluctant, feeling they were too young, but agreed to marry when they turned eighteen. Sometime during his teens, Remy’s mutant talent to charge inanimate objects with kinetic energy became active. At the age of fifteen, Remy tried to shepherd his cousin, Etienne, through the tilling, the Thieves' Guild rite of passage. In Spain, Granada, they were captured by the gorgeous but cruel Candra. She was buying a shipment of children from a monstrous criminal called “the Pig”; and he took Remy and Etienne to his Pig Pen training facility, intending to sell them to the Viper. Still learning about his own powers, Remy blew their way out of their cells and then blew up the Hydra airship. The Pig caught Etienne and beat on Remy, who picked up a spilled deck of cards and found his motif of throwing charged cards, injuring the Pig’s in the process. Both boys fell into the ocean. While Etienne drowned, Remy was rescued by a fishing trawler. A few months before his arranged marriage, Remy visited Paris with his adoptive brother, Henri. It was time for Remy to earn his place as a member of the Thieves Guild through his own rite of passage. He was supposed to steal a valuable jewel—l’Etoile du Tricherie—from a young jewel thief named Genevieve Darcenaux, who had purloined it from its rightful owner, Herzog. Herzog, in turn, had put Victor Creed, aka Sabretooth, on the young woman’s trail. Saving the young woman from the feral mutant, Remy earned Creed's enmity. The killer watched as Remy used his wiles to beguile Genevieve, making her fall in love with him and finally stealing the jewel from her. It was then that Sabretooth kidnapped both Genevieve and Henri. He not only forced Remy to give him back the jewel, but he cruelly made him choose between his brother and his lover as he dropped both of them from one of the spires of Notre-Dame. Remy leapt after them and grabbed his brother, sealing Genevieve’s fate. Remy realized too late that she had truly loved him. Wedding and exile After the wedding to Bella Donna, her brother, Julien, who opposed any kind of peace between the Guilds, challenged Remy to a duel. LeBeau won, apparently killing Julien, but the incident threatened the delicate truce. Although he had done nothing to be blamed for, the Guilds demanded that Remy be banished from New Orleans in an attempt to restore balance. Remy departed, not even asking his new wife if she wanted to join him in exile. LeBeau left New Orleans and began operating under the alias Gambit. Before long, though, his control over his still growing mutant powers slipped, making him a danger to everyone around him. Help came from an unexpected quarter: the mad scientist, Mr. Sinister. Sinister had studied superhumans for the better part of a century and he managed to limit the young man’s power to a controllable level by performing surgery on Remy’s brain, excising some grey matter. Little was known of Gambit’s actions and adventures over the next years, only that he became a superb thief and made many contacts and quite a few enemies during that time. At least once he met a fellow mutant mercenary in his line of work, an American female by the name of Joanna Cargill, aka Frenzy. They apparently spent some time in each other’s company, given that they referred to each other on first name basis and seemed rather familiar. LeBeau was also approached by the leader of the Brotherhood of Mutants, Magneto, who had heard of his reputation as a highly skilled thief. Gambit worked for Magneto on a few different occasions, stealing weapons, government building blueprints and parts to top-secret technology, but never became a member of his terrorist group. Since he was indebted to the man, Gambit also undertook several missions for Mr. Sinister. Eventually, though, Gambit no longer wanted to serve the power hungry scientist and Sinister declared their debt would be settled after one last mission. As symbolic payment for his final last job, he handed Gambit a vial containing his excised grey matter. This last mission involved Gambit gathering a group of super-powered mercenaries, among them his deadly enemy, Sabretooth, and one good friend in Grey Crow aka Scalphunter, who actually had worked with Sinister before. Once he had recruited all the people Sinister wanted to be part of the so-called Marauders, Remy lead them into the tunnels of the subterranean mutant tribe called the Morlocks. Gambit was under the mistaken belief that Sinister just wanted to gather knowledge on mutants or capture them. However, he was horrified to learn the truth, as the Marauders started slaughtering all Morlocks as soon as they got hold of them. Hopelessly outnumbered by the skilled mutants he had hired, Gambit knew he was unable to stop the killing. All LeBeau managed to do was save one teenage Morlock girl named Sarah Rushman, who would one day become known as Marrow. Meeting Storm and joining the X-Men Personality and traits He was also a fan of the New Orleans Saints NFL football team. Relationships Family Friends Etienne Marceaux Romances Bella Donna Boudreaux Genevieve Darcenaux Ororo Munroe Anna Marie Carlyle Powers and Abilities Powers Molecular Acceleration: Remy had the power to take the potential energy stored in an object and convert it to kinetic energy thus “charging” that item with explosive results. He prefered to charge smaller objects, such as his ever-present playing cards, as the time required to charge them was greatly reduced and they were much easier for him to throw. The only real limitation to this ability was the time required to charge the object. The larger it was the more time it would take. Most charging took place through direct skin contact. The power of his explosions was dependent on the mass of the object he was charging. For example, a charged playing card exploded with the force of a grenade. Gambit could also use his powers to accelerate an object's kinetic energy instead of converting its potential energy. For example, he was able to charge his bo staff with enough power to level a house. Enhanced Agility: Gambit's ability to tap energy also granted him superhuman agility and dexterity which gave him an added edge he used to his advantage by developing a unique acrobatic fighting style. *''Static Interference: Ability to create static, because of the charged potential energy always in his body, that shielded his mind from detection and intrusion by even the most powerful telepaths. The shield had the added effect of destabilizing touch based powers. '''Hypnotic Charm': Ability to "charge" the kinetic energy within a person's brain, allowing a subtle influence over any sentient mind. This power allowed Gambit to compel others to believe what he said and agree with anything he suggested. More powerful minds proved immune to Gambit's charm. Abilities Expert Marksman: Remy is skilled at throwing small objects such as cards, bolas, knives, and balls with great accuracy. Master Combatant: Gambit was a very profound fighter who often employed martial arts, street fighting, and acrobatics. He was well adept in martial arts Savate, French kickboxing, and Bojutsu, the art of using a Bo staff. Nick Fury even referred to Gambit as "One of the best hand to hand fighters I've ever seen". Skilled Thief: Gambit was skilled at sneakily stealing things. Skilled Con-Man: Gambit was a very convincing liar. Bilingual: Remy was fluent in English and Cajun French. Paraphernalia Weapons Gambit usually employed throwing spikes and playing cards. He also often used a telescoping bo-staff. Appearances }} Notes and references Category:Males Category:X-Men members Category:Mutants Category:Brotherhood members Category:Americans Category:Humans Category:Thieves Guild members Category:LeBeau family Category:Thieves Category:Con artists Category:Gamblers Category:Marauders members Category:Members of the Brotherhood of Mutants